The Balloon and the Three Objects
In February 2023, people in Montana looked up at a giant white balloon high in the sky. Over the next nine days, fighter jets shot down it and three other unidentified objects.
What was reported
At the start of February 2023, people across the northern United States spotted a huge white balloon drifting at about 18 kilometres up, carrying a large payload. The US said it was a Chinese surveillance balloon; China said it was a weather balloon blown off course. On 4 February, a fighter jet shot it down off the coast of South Carolina.
Over the following week, with radars tuned to look for small, slow objects, jets shot down three more things over Alaska, Canada's Yukon and Lake Huron. Officials couldn't say what they were.
Explanations offered
The first balloon was recovered from the sea. The other three were never found, and US officials later said they were most likely harmless balloons, perhaps from hobby groups or companies. The episode showed how much goes unnoticed in the sky until people start looking.
- When
- January–February 2023
- Where
- Billings, Montana, USA
- Witnesses
- People across the United States, and fighter pilots
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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